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Websleuths News

On the latest edition of Websleuths Radio we tackle the Rebecca Zahau murder case and the big mistake made in the autopsy report of the Las Vegas shooter.
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1:45 p.m. update: Law enforcement sources have identified the suspect in the downtown Austin shootings Friday morning as 49-year-old Larry Steve McQuilliams of Austin. The sources requested anonymity because of the ongoing nature of the investigation.

Austin police, meanwhile, said that the suspect’s home has been secured and is safe.
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Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo said it was unclear whether the gunman, a white man in his 50s who is a resident of Austin, died by his own hand or by an officer who fired at the man.

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Authorities are still investigating a possible motive. But Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo told reporters Friday that, based on his own experience and the suspect’s targets, “the national debate about immigration right now…certainly comes to mind.”

Describing the suspect’s actions as “violent anti-everything behavior, anti-government behavior if you will,” Acevedo said he was willing to speculate that the current “heated” political discourse on immigration issues “might have fed into some of this.”

While firing at the Mexican consulate, the suspect also attempted to “ignite” the building using small cylinders of fuel used by campers, Acevedo said.
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The APD has done an excellent job of bringing this situation to an end. If you haven't read the article which describes the actual takedown, it's worth the read.

The officer who was being fired upon while loading horses in the trailer held two horses by the reins while he returned fire with his free hand, striking the shooter in the head and dropping him right there. Additionally, officers who rushed to drag the shooter away from the possibly booby trapped van immediately recognized the fact that the shooter himself could have explosives in his vest and took cover until it could be ascertained that the explosives were not rigged to detonate.

No citizens were injured, a safe perimeter was maintained and there were no secondary incidences of violence.

I shudder to think what would have happened if this took place in a city where people think it is cool to riot at the drop of a hat. Not having any of that nonsense here in Texas!
MOO

McQuilliams went from a costumed, renaissance fair enthusiast to an crazed anti-immigration gunman with just a suggestion from Chief Acevedo.
They've not determined yet if he committed suicide or was hit by Officer Johnson.

According to Chief Acevedo, the sergeant fired a single shot at the suspect with one hand while holding the horses by the reins with the other.
However, police are not sure at this time whether it was the cop's bullet that ended the suspect's life, or whether he committed suicide.